Breaking: Germany crash out of Euro 2024 after defeat to Spain, set unwanted record
Host nation Germany has been eliminated from Euro 2024 following a 2-1 defeat to Spain on Friday, July 5. They're the first host nation to be eliminated in the quarter-final stage of a European tournament.
With a beautiful assist from Lamine Yamal, Dani Olmo scored the opening goal of the night in the 51st minute. But Florian Wirtz dashed the Spanish hopes temporarily after equalizing in the 89th minute.
However, Mikel Merino's goal in the 119th minute, set up once again by Dani Olmo, brought them back into the game. It was certainly an epic showdown between two of the favorites to win the tournament but La Roja came out triumphant.
Apart from excellent performances from the likes of Dani Olmo and Lamine Yamal, they benefitted from multiple crucial saves by goalkeeper Unai Simon. Following their Euro 2024 victory over Germany, Spain broke an old jinx that had been behind them for years. They scored against the host nations in a European tournament for the first time.
Spain will face either Portugal or France in the Euro 2024 semi-final set to be held at the Allianz Arena in Munich on July 9.
Germany coach Julian Nagelsmann shared opinion on Lamine Yamal ahead of Euro 2024 clash vs Spain
Ahead of Germany's clash against Spain in the Euro 2024 quarter-final, coach Julian Nageslmann made confident claims about Spanish attacker Lamine Yamal.
In a pre-match press conference, he said Germany will have lots of chances to tackle him in the match. He called Yamal a big talent but said that he has many good players supporting him in the Spanish team to have his back. He also added:
"He has big qualities, he’s very good in the one v ones, but he’s only 16 years old so there are also big chances for our players in that regard to counter him."
The Germany coach also said that it would be easy for them to tackle him due to his lack of experience. However, he accepted that Yamal is a talented and interesting player.
“I think you can’t always defend him because he’s so variable, he goes on the inside and the outside. His left foot is stronger than his right foot but he can still use his right foot so we need to be prepared for several things," Nagelsmann said.
"But on the other hand, he does not have so much experience at this level when things don’t go his way or when the opponent tackles him a little bit stronger. This is not a plan that we want to hurt him or tackle him all the time but of course he’s an interesting player, he’s doing a very good job and for the neutral fan he’s definitely a joy to watch,” he added.
Interestingly, Yamal recorded one assist against the Die Mannschaft in the Euro 2024 quarter-final as the Spaniards made it to the semi-final.